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Pathways: Chapter 2: All of Chapter 2
General Feudal System *introduced to England by the Normans post-Battle of Hastings *highest point of feudalism during middle ages * manors central to feudal life **self-sufficient **serfs & free-holders worked the lords land **religion and the church big part of life *mainly a military agreement **lord protected serfs **serfs had to do military service **'William the Conqueror' ***made England feudal, like Normandy ***took land from English earls and gave them to his knights ***English villages originally free ****some resisted, were brutally crushed Feudal Contract *3 F's fief (land), fealty (loyalty), faith (religion) *land given based on wealth *the monarch gave out fiefs, and protected lords, in exchange for military service (~40 days), supplying knights, work in the monarch's court to help *the monarch had to settle disputes between nobles *lords signed allegiances to Monarch, became vassals (contract) *both parties had to keep their end of the bargain *vassals of kings known as barons, or tenants-in-chief (tenant comes from a french word meaning holder) *noble always kept a bit of land, indirectly still controlled all land *each lord had right to profit from manor, get serfs and freeholders to work the land **serfs + freeholders 90% pop. **free holders owned land, paid yearly fee to lord (like rent) *serfs essentially slaves The Manor *self-sufficient *manor village had church, mill, blacksmith, bakery *needed skilled workers to do specialized tasks (thatching roofs, fletching arrows *almost always near source of water (e.g. river, stream) **powered mill **made area fertile for crops *villagers gathered firewood *'The Lord/Lady' :Main article Lord/Lady **always set a bit a land for themselves, known as the Demesne (IPA: /dɨˈmeɪn/) **rest of land owned by freeholders or farmed by serfs **most lords had bailiffs (manager) to deal with day-to-day affairs Ordinary people *serfs considered part of property and estate *land divided into strips *rights to strips of land passed down from generation to generation *serfs had to turn over a percentage of crops over to their lord *serfs allowed to sell surplus crops *serfs may own a few sheep, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, or ducks **'Consumption''' ***average male consumed 5000 calories/day ***diet consisted of bread, beer, herrings, onions, leeks, cheese, fruits, peas, eggs, milk **'Village Homes' ***lived in manor houses ***made from wattle and daub (woven sticks covered in clay and mud) ***roofed with thatch ***floor was packed dirt ***a place for a fire, hole in the roof for a chimney ***9-10 X 3-4 meters ***5-6 people/family, all in one room ***pests and vermin everywhere, flourished ***only a few pieces of furniture (stool, bench, table, box) ***everybody slept on straw mattresses (even lords and ladies) **'Work & Co-operation' ***entire family worked ***young children quickly learned to do farm work ***children of common folk didn't go to school ***women wove cloths, made clothes, brewed beer, baked bread, preserved food for the winter, cared for children, gathered firewood, collected herbs, tended their garden ***men did farm work (ploughing, planting, weeding, and harvesting), if he was a serf, he worked the Lord's Demesne as well ***worked from sunrise to sunset ***worked with neighbours if there was a large job General Lord/Lady This is actually the manor house, but there isn't a "general" lord/lady -Theadmiralty *lived well compared to villagers *best house (the manor) *team of servants *hall to deal with affairs and entertain guests *tapestries draped rooms to keep warm *lots of furniture **tables, chests, good chairs, books Privilieges *possessed rare items (e.g. books) *had the best houses *could participate in activities limited to higher class ** falconry, hunting in own personal forest *could acquire fine horses *could have troubadours (singers) and other entertainers entertain them Obligations *Required to pay back the monarch for the manor (e.g. military service, supplying knights) *to marry and produce a Heir or Heiress *to marry for the good of the family (in a way increasing wealth, influence, and power) Women's Rights *not many rights **controlled by father before marriage **controlled by husband after marriage *when inheriting property, women were treated like properties *wanted to marry quickly if they were a heiress, to prevent the tenant-in-chief from seizing her land *widows kept their legal rights and property **rich widows often refused to marry to keep their power General Belief and Devotion *almost all of west Europe was devoutly Christian *thought that everybody struggled through good and evil *children learned that good=heaven, bad=hell *thought that by taking part in religious ceremonies, their sins would be forgiven *thought that god controlled everything **success/failure **sickness/health **rain/drought *everyday dedicated to a different saint *no important event could be carried out without god's blessing *some people dedicated their lives to work in god's name *others lived as hermits in hopes that their solitude would bring them closer to god The Church *Catholic church the only Christian institution in Europe *people required to practise religion through church **church became very powerful through this *excommunicated=no church services (weddings, blessed burials), and the belief you would go to hell *church and state on equal footing *almost all villages/towns had a church/priest *tithe was basically a 10% church tax *some very rich churches because of rich villagers *some went in to do god's work, others to escape menial labor Monastic Life *men went into monastaries *women into convents, or nunneries *took vows of poverty, chasity, obedience *woke up early to do prayers *food simple, few comforts *some free time **usually studying or copying books *still large number of applicants General Law *had some aspects of modern law **persecutions, suits, judges *tried anything that caused "evil" **even rats, toads, insects Trial by Ordeal and by Battle *'by ordeal' **thought that god protected innocent **put person in harm's way **though god would protect if innocent ***walking over 9 red hot ploughs ***holding a red hot iron over a certain distance ***drinking water used to clean a holy relic *'by battle' **same concept as ordeal ***two nobles would fight to the death ***noblewomen would select champion to fight in her name Manor Courts *had to do with farming and property *even serfs could sue *possibly crimes **failing to bring oxen to plough **ploughing another person's land **certain civil matters **assault **public drunkeness **petty theft *like village meeting *witnesses *heavy fine for lying *villagers decided guilt *representative of the lord (steward) decided sentence **usually a fine Royal Courts *dealt with serious crimes **murder **treason **rape **burglary ***exceeding 1 shilling (one weeks wage) could mean execution footnote *common law (applying to entire kingdom) *only this court could order execution *court took all property after execution FOOTNOTE! The average annual income for the UK in 2008/09 was 30,000 pounds. The shilling, was turned into the British 5 pence in ~1980. This means that 1 pound is worth approximately 20 shillings. 20 X 30,000 = 600,000 shillings/year. 600K/52 = ~11,500 shilling/week. Go and google inflation. Church Court *judged church official *lighter sentences than royal, no death penalty *literacy test to prove that they worked for church **some criminals tried to educate themselves because of this **'Thomas Beckett' ***didn't obey king ***knights took king's remark to get rid of him seriously ***was canonized Medieval Geography *people uneducated *thought world ended at edge of manor because they never went anywhere *journeys dangerous because of bandits *always traveled in groups, with weapons *nobles new a bit about world when traveling to relatives, or war *maps were T-O, always placed Jerusalem at centre of world Contact With Asia *Genghis Khan's empire allowed Europeans to trade with China (Silk Road) *1265, Nicolo & Maffeo Polo go to China, 1227, go with Marco Polo **Journey influenced peoples knowledge and view of China The Crusades * Christians fought Muslims for control of the Holy Land **Jerusalem and the surrounding area **orriginally held by christian Byzantine Empire **took over by Muslim Seljuk Turks in 10th Century C.E. **riligion, predjudice, greed, lust for land, triggered Crusades *thought holy war got them place in heaven *7 crusades from 1098-1254 *peoples crusade, led by peter the hermit, and walter the penniless, attacked settlements, massacred *childrens crusade, enslaved/massacred *1st crusade held Jerusalem for 100 years *1187 Saladin re-conquered it *led to lust for riches, inadverdently triggered age of discovery 300 years later Balance of Power *monarchs had power to raise taxes, change laws, etc. **kept in check by barons ***very powerful ***had large army ***sudden revolt by baron, very hard to put down **monarch tried to keep barons happy Eleanor of Aquitaine *lived 82 years *queen of both France and England *joined 2nd crusade *commited treason by convinsing her children to revolt against her husband, prison for 16 years *promoted courtly love *passionate about literature *believed in equality for sexes *at death, possibly most famous person in Europe King John *lost support of people when fought with pope innocent III *pope put England under and interdict, excommunication *pope convinced France to invade England *john flipped other direction *gave england to pope as a fief, made "Peter's Pence" tax for pope *often stepped out of bounds **breaking feudal code, executions without trial, made illegal taxes etc. **'Magna Carta' ***1214, barons rebelled ***townspeople and the church as well ****1215, john forced to sign magna carta Category:All of Category:Pathways